As a little girl, I always wanted a pony for Christmas. Santa never brought me a pony. So in my late 40s, I started taking horseback riding lessons. When I turned 50, I got my first horse, an Icelandic named Blessi (Veigar frá Búðardal). Little did I know how much fun life with an Icelandic was going to be. Blessi has a unique perspective on life. I hope you enjoy reading about it as much as I enjoy Blessi. And you will probably read about my cats from time to time.

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Historic Icelandic Horsekeeping Practices

Photographs of F. Howell, Cornell University Library.

In her investigation of
historic Scandinavian horse keeping practices from 500 BC to 1060 AD, A.
Sunkvist discusses the practice common in many parts of Scandinavia, including
Iceland, of maintaining free-roaming horse herds in which the majority of
horses, when not under use, are allowed to roam free and fend for
themselves.Such practices lead to what
she calls “the survival of the fittest.”

As Sunkvist mentions, the Icelandic Saga of
Hravnkel Freysgodi and The Saga of Gunlaugs Ormstungu discuss how the mares are
grouped with select superior select stallions in different valleys—a way of
controlling breeding. She states that “The first law ever regulating
horse-breeding in Iceland dates as late as 1891 and bans sexually mature colts
to run loose, which can be interpreted as a way to control the breeding.”Certainly these methods of letting the horses
fend entirely for themselves were in use in Iceland until fairly recently and
when combined with the great change in Icelandic climate would have had a
devastating impact on the native horse populations during any year of severe
weather conditions.

Survival of any stock over winter in Iceland was dependent
on how much hay could be harvested in the summer.Some of the better riding horses would have
received additional care and forage.Haystacks were often roofed with sod to better preserve them.

Source:

Sunkvist, A.(2002 ).Herding horses: a model of prehistoric horsemanship in Scandinavia – and
elsewhere, PECUS. Man and animal in
antiquity. Proceedings of the conference at the Swedish Institute in Rome,
September 9-12, 2002.